Love is Brightest in the Dark
by AquaStormXIV
Summary: As Terra despairs over whether or not he will fall into darkness, Aqua comforts him and shows him how light will always guide him through the darkness. Beware of some spoilers. Terra x Aqua


**Love is Brightest in the Dark**

**Summary: As Terra despairs over whether or not he will fall into darkness, Aqua comforts him and shows him how light will always guide him through the darkness. Beware of some spoilers. Terra x Aqua**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I don't own the title really either. I was just thinking about an episode of Avatar the Last Airbender and gave it this title. In season 2 episode 2, Katara says the line. And since I mentioned it, I don't own Avatar either.**

**I was bored when I came up with this. It's a bit of a sequel to my 'What My Heart is Telling Me' fic, but it's also its own story. So, whatever.**

**Also, at some points I'll refer to the Master Qualification Exam as MQE. It just saves a hassle since completely spelled out, it's long.**

**Here Goes:**

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Terra sat alone on a small rock outcropping. A small campfire burned behind him and a sleeping mat and blankets were sprawled on the ground. He had a massive headache from several fights he'd been in earlier that day. He just stared at the sky to clear his mind. Ven and Aqua were who-knows-where and he was alone.

"What am I going to do?" Terra asked himself. He was referring to an accident he'd had earlier. He'd had a fight with some jerk named Braig who'd kidnapped Master Xehanort. At the end of the fight, Terra had really unleashed some bad darkness and taken out one of Braig's eyes and scarred his face. Terra had been terrified of that power.

Master Xehanort on the other hand, was very pleased that Terra was releasing his darkness. He claimed that he would gain more power by using his darkness. Rather than try and rid himself of darkness, Xehanort told Terra that he should control his darkness. Terra had been taught just the opposite of that by Master Eraqus however. Eraqus said that darkness consumes the hearts of those who misused it, and Terra was really starting to believe it. He was worried about the state his heart would be in if he used that darkness again.

His darkness had been displayed for the first time at least a week ago during his and Aqua's Master Qualification Exam. They had been in the sparring part of the test and Aqua had been about to attack him. He'd meant to guard himself, but Terra had been surprised by a dark aura enveloping his hand. Aqua and Ven didn't seem to have noticed, but Masters Eraqus and Xehanort certainly did. After learning that only Aqua passed the exam because Terra had let his darkness out, he'd gone into distress. Afterwards, Xehanort offered Terra for the first time instructions on how to control his darkness. Terra had been unsure of it then and still was now judging by the events of that afternoon.

Ven and Aqua… what would they say?

Ven would probably worry. He'd been pretty upset at hearing earlier about Terra possibly getting in touch with his darkness. And Aqua had been the one who'd told him.

Aqua… Terra felt especially betrayed by her. Only the night before their Master Qualification Exam, they'd confessed to each other that they loved one another. But hearing her uncertainty about what was happening to him, he'd become distraught. Hearing her talk about him that way was just too much.

_'When I look at the things you've done in other worlds, it makes me think that you're probably turning to darkness,'_ she'd said. Her words were still fresh in his mind. And the look on Aqua's face had been one of uneasiness and fear.

Terra understood her. If he was getting close to the darkness, she had a right to be afraid. He was possibly turning to darkness. She was so full of light, just like Ven. Terra probably wouldn't be able to look either of them in the face the same way again.

Aqua and Ven would probably never speak to him again or even want to come into contact with him again.

He just stared off at the dark horizon. It wasn't until he heard the crunching of footsteps did he look away. He thought it must be another Unversed. So, he summoned his Keyblade and prepared to fight. However, he was quite surprised when he saw who rounded the corner.

"Terra?" It was Aqua.

"Aqua," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"I saw your campfire and wanted to see who was up here," she said. "Is Ven around?"

"No," Terra answered. "I left him back in Radiant Garden. But I don't know where he went." He turned and dismissed his Keyblade.

"He found me after he saw you," Aqua said. "He's trying to stay strong."

"Yeah. That's Ven for you."

Terra walked back to his perch on the rocks and Aqua went to sit next to him. He kept his face turned away.

"Terra, is something wrong?" Aqua asked.

"I'm just thinking about what you said earlier," Terra replied. "About my darkness. You see, after I left you and Ven after we beat that massive Unversed, I met some guy who captured Master Xehanort."

"Someone captured him?" Aqua asked. She sounded a little alarmed. She didn't exactly know much about Master Xehanort, but she didn't understand why some random person would kidnap him.

"Yeah, and I beat the jerk," Terra said. "But the darkness in me really took over. I blasted that creep in the eye with darkness and then I scarred his face and it also freed Xehanort."

"You did all that?" Aqua asked in shock.

"Yeah. And I'm not proud of it. Xehanort says that using darkness will help me gain more power, but Eraqus has always told us that darkness will only consume those who use it before completely destroying themselves."

"That's true."

"But I don't know what to do. I don't know what to think anymore, Aqua. Especially with you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. Remember that night before the MQE?"

"Oh," Aqua said. "I see."

"I told you that I loved you," Terra said. "You said that you loved me too. But I'm not sure I can do this." Anguish gripped Terra's voice now.

"Do what?" Aqua asked as she touched his hand. The instant their skin came into contact, they both jolted away. The reason was that they'd sensed something in the other. Aqua felt Terra's darkness writhing around inside him and Terra felt Aqua's pure shining light inside her. "Terra…?"

"Aqua, I think you should leave," Terra said. "I should just be alone." He stood up and sat down on his sleeping mat.

"Why?" she asked.

"I should just be alone if all I'm going to do is give into my darkness," Terra said.

"You can fight that darkness though and regain control of it," Aqua said. "I don't care about you having darkness, Terra."

"But _I_ care about it!" Terra snapped. "I can't take it. I don't want to affect you too, Aqua. If my darkness hurts you, I'm never going to forgive myself."

"Terra!" Aqua cried. Tears started welling up in her eyes. "I don't care what happens to me! We fight darkness all the time! That's what the Unversed are made of!"

Terra was furious now. Aqua wasn't listening to him. She was just protesting and arguing. He just didn't want to be someone who would hurt her. He _never_ wanted to hurt her.

"Aqua, enough!" Terra roared. He saw the tears finally spill down her cheeks. "I just can't take it anymore. If my darkness were to hurt you, it will haunt me forever. I don't want to hurt you, ever."

"You'll hurt me if you push me away," Aqua said as she walked over to him and sat next to him. She held his hand, not shying away at his touch like before. "Terra, darkness or no darkness, you're still you. You're the man I know and love and always want to be with."

Terra looked at her and saw that her words were sincere. He moved her hand to his face and felt its warmth. He didn't realize how cold he'd been until that moment. Aqua moved closer and shared her body heat with Terra. She pulled up the blanket and wrapped it around them.

"You really mean it?" he asked.

"Yes," Aqua said. "I would've just walked away the instant I saw you if I didn't mean it. Terra, if you have darkness, you can learn to control it. Only the seven Princesses of Heart are free of darkness. The rest of us all have it in some way."

"But you and Ven barely have it," Terra said. "Xehanort said that you both have very strong light and that it only makes my darkness more apparent. Ven might get scared of me when he finds out."

"Ven idolizes you, Terra," Aqua said. "You're his hero. He won't believe it right away. You know him."

"Yeah," Terra said. He smiled at Aqua. Just knowing that he hadn't lost her yet made him very happy. It was enough for that moment.

They turned to each other and smiled before leaning in for a loving kiss. Aqua did this to prove to Terra that no matter what happened to him or even her, she would always love him. She would love him in every way, even his darkness if she had to prove to him how much she cared.

Terra then lay down, bringing Aqua with him. He tried to lie down and go to sleep, except Aqua wasn't finished with him yet. She nudged his rib cage to get his attention.

"What could it possibly be?" he asked in a teasing tone.

"I wanted to let you know, love can be the light of a person's heart," Aqua said. "And even in the deepest darkness, there is always light. So please remember, love is brightest in the dark."

"I love you," Terra said with a teasing grin.

"And I love you," Aqua replied with a returning smile. "Hold to your light. It always finds a way out of the darkness."

"I will, because _you_ are my light," Terra said. "I plan to cling to my light for as long as I can."

"As do I," Aqua said. She smiled and the twinkle in her eyes told Terra that he was her light.

As the fire died down, Terra and Aqua continued to kiss each other lovingly. Expressing love was better than just saying how you felt.

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Dawn was approaching and Terra had woken up, but he let Aqua continue to sleep there in his arms. They'd fallen asleep in the midst of kissing each other the night before.

_'Darkness and light…'_ he thought. _'Me and Aqua…'_ He smiled as he cupped Aqua's cheek. She lightly stirred, but she didn't wake, leaving Terra to think a little bit longer.

Just as the sun rose, Aqua stirred from her sleep to find Terra still holding her.

"Good morning," he said.

"Morning…" Aqua muttered sleepily.

"Yeah." Terra sat up and leaned Aqua against him. She looked into his eyes as soon as hers were wide open and smiled.

"Sleep well?" Terra asked.

"If by that you mean, 'did you not have nightmares about the Unversed', then yes, I did," Aqua teased. "How did you sleep?"

"Better than I have in a long time," Terra said. "All because I had you there."

"I'm glad I was with you."

"Same."

Terra caressed Aqua's face before pulling her closer to him. She leaned in and kissed him, letting him know that she would always love him even if he fell into darkness. She'd be by his side the whole way.

"I love you," Aqua said as they broke apart.

"I know," Terra said. "My beautiful light, I'll always keep you close."

Aqua smiled as Terra held her close to him and they watched the sun fully peek over the horizon for the start of a new day.

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**This fic was supposed to expand into… something else. But I couldn't think of a good scenario for it. So, sorry.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed.**


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